Greater New Orleans

Habitat for Humanity is Building on Faith

Darlene and Martin Desmond have been married for 50 years and would certainly welcome the opportunity to share their wisdom of building a lasting relationship.

“People go through rough times,” said Darlene Desmond. “You can’t stay angry at each other because there are going to be times when you have to lean on each other for support.”

One of the many times when they’ve needed each other was during their son’s battle with cancer three years ago. Though he fought the good fight, it wasn’t meant to be. Without faith and hope, the Desmonds admit, they would not have been able to endure the trying and draining experience.

These days, they find themselves facing another uphill struggle. Their current home, badly damaged before Hurricane Katrina, suffered irreparable damage, forcing them to move into Darlene’s mother’s mobile home shortly after her passing. Complicating matters, Martin Desmond is a victim of polio and has been in a motorized wheel chair, and the mobile home where they live is not handicap accessible.

The hope and faith that has fueled their 50-year marriage was once again rewarded when Habitat For Humanity welcome the Desmonds into their family as a future recipient of their Building On Faith Family for 2011.

Building On Faith is a program specifically designed to give the faith-based community an opportunity to come together and help families in need. Area churches are strongly encouraged and welcomed to participate. Through a multi-faith effort, the mission’s objective can have a wide-reaching impact.

Families chosen for the program are required to put in “sweat equity hours” as part of their involvement in the program, which include helping on the construction of the house. However, since health issues prevent the Desmonds from assisting in the building, they volunteer their time at the ReStore, located at 1400 North Lane in Mandeville just off of Louisiana 59.

“They are absolutely wonderful,” said Darlene Desmond. “People don’t realize how far they go to help. They’ve taken us in like we are part of their family.”

Habitat For Humanity is an outreach ministry whose goal is to provide housing for low-income families who, in turn, have an involvement in the process. The end result is a cycle of hope and goodwill that energizes the families and surrounding communities through empowerment and hard work.

Before Hurricane Katrina, the faith-based community was very powerful in its efforts of reaching out through the Building on Faith program. After the hurricane, Habitat For Humanity recognized the need for each church to rebuild and revitalize their own communities before getting back what was a critical part of the area.

“Part of our mission is to engage different parts of the community every year with our multi-build projects like Women’s Build, CEO Build,” said Jennifer Moskowitz, West St. Tammany development director.

“We had a very strong connection with the faith-based community before Katrina, and that’s because we are based on Christian principles. Those churches focused on rebuilding their congregations, and we lost some of those ties. What we’re finding now is that those connections are still there, and building two homes a year through this program is a way to re-energize that effort.”

Congregations can get involved in a number of ways, including serving on the Building on Faith Committee, volunteering at a build site (no experience necessary), donating furniture, clothing, appliances to the ReStore.

For more information, call 893.3172. The website is www.habitatstw.org.